As the No. 6 seed in the District 1/2 2A Softball Tournament, the Mountlake Terrace Hawks needed to win twice on the final day of the tourney to earn a spot in the upcoming 2A state tournament. And while Terrace was able to slip past the No. 4-seeded Sedro-Woolley Cubs 3-2, getting that second victory on Friday would prove too elusive for the gritty Hawks.

Terrace was tripped up by the No. 3-seed Lynden Lions 7-4 in the district tournament’s 3rd/4th place winner-to-state contest Friday evening, leaving the Hawks one win short of state and ending their 2019 season.

The Lions picked up some key hits in the third, fourth and fifth innings — including a two-run home run by junior Taylor Simonsen — to build their three-run advantage. Lynden then survived a last-ditch seventh-inning comeback attempt by the Hawks to grab the victory and the last District 1/2 berth to the state tournament.

Although Terrace earned the fourth place finish in the 12-team district tournament, being left out of the state tourney field and seeing their season come to a close brought disappointment to many on the squad.

“We kind of knew going into it that it was going to be either happy tears or it was going to be the sad tears,” said Coach Shannon Rasmusson, “and it ended up not being the happy tears.”

Terrace had taken a 4-2 lead over Lynden in the top of the third inning with a two-run double by Jamie Bingaman and runs scored by Kierra Scott and Delaney Flynn off a pair of Lions’ infield errors. But the lead was short-lived as the Lions scored four in their half of the third and a single run in the fourth to build a 7-4 lead.

In their final at-bats, the Hawks loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh and giving Bingaman another chance to be a gamechanger. The junior lifted a fly deep to centerfield, but the ball stayed in the park to be caught by Lynden’s Blakely Doerge to end the game.

The loss to Lynden came after the Hawks had gotten past Sedro-Woolley in a tourney loser-out contest at Janicki Fields in Sedro-Woolley earlier on Friday. Terrace scored three runs in the top of the first inning, then held off a Cubs last-inning comeback to snatch the victory.

Flynn scattered eight hits and walked just one to earn the win and praise from Rasmussen.

“Laney threw her heart out and stuck with it all game,” Rasmussen said. “She did an awesome job for us. She came through and even was able to start the first couple of innings of (the Lynden) game.”

Terrace ends the year with a record of 13-12, remarkable considering the team began the season with just one win in their first seven outings.

“We kind of got off, definitely, to a rough start,” Rasmussen recalled. “(We) kind of had to fight back and figure who we were as a team and figure out were some people (fit in).”

“But they were fighters, up and down our lineup,” she continued. “And we wouldn’t have been where we were if it wasn’t for every batter, every player even. They all put their time in and they all came up huge at different times for us.”

To view the entire District 1/2 2A Softball Tournament bracket, click http://www.wescoathletics.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2894&sport=15.

Prep Softball: Mountlake Terrace vs. Sedro-Woolley, May 17 (District 1/2 2A Softball Tournament loser-out game)

Mountlake Terrace 3   0 0     0 0 0    0 — 3    5 1

Sedro-Woolley 0   0 0     0 0 0    2 — 2    8 3

Winning pitcher: Delaney Flynn (Mountlake Terrace)

Losing pitcher: Avery Wagner (Sedro-Woolley)

Records: Mountlake Terrace 13-12 overall; Sedro Woolley 13-9 overall

Prep Softball: Mountlake Terrace vs. Lynden, May 17 (District 1/2 2A Softball Tournament 3rd/4th place game – winner-to-state, loser-out)

Terrace 0   0 4     0 0 0    0 — 4      7 1

Lynden 0   2 4     1 0 0    x — 7    12 3

Winning pitcher: Breanna Swendt (Lynden)

Losing pitcher: Delaney Flynn (Mountlake Terrace)

Records: Mountlake Terrace 13-12 overall; Lynden 16-7 overall

Mountlake Terrace next game: 2019 season completed

— By Doug Petrowski